On Monday, the two hyenas, a male and a female about three years old, were becoming acclimated to their new surroundings. True to their nature, they still seemed nervous, hunching down and pacing in their fenced enclosure, ever on the alert to the sounds of the lions, tigers, wolves and an assortment of other wildlife that live in the reserve that’s about 10 miles west of downtown St. Augustine.

“The first day, I sat here with chicken legs and got them to eat,” she said. “Then, yesterday, the (St. Johns County) Sheriff’s department brought us a roadkill deer, and we cut that in half and gave it to them. They were like two little kids in a candy store. They ate every bit of it — the bones, the teeth, everything, and digested it all. That’s what they do.”

Warrick has already given them names: Sekani, which is Swahili for “laughter,” is the female, and the male is Juba, which is Swahili for “brave.”

The pair were captured wild in Africa about 2 1/2 years ago and shipped to the United States, Warrick said. The person who originally purchased them and paid for their transportation to the Port of Tampa never showed up to pick them up.

“They basically lived in their shipping crates for about two months,” she said. “A friend of mine who runs a smaller reserve in the Tampa area ended up taking them in and cared for them for two years, but she couldn’t continue to do so, so I went down and got them last Thursday.”

Taking the unwanted

Warrick said many people obtain an exotic pet only to realize that the animal’s wild nature doesn’t fit into their life — or their household — as they expected.

“That’s where we come in,” she said. “We will take in unwanted exotic animals as an alternative to euthanasia. Some of our animals came from abusive homes. Two wolves were rescued when their owner was involved in a fatal auto accident. Many of our animals were confiscated by wildlife agencies from individuals who held these animals without proper state permits, or who starved their animals, maintaining them in inferior conditions.”

She said some even come from celebrities, including five Arctic wolves and an African lion that were received some years ago from Michael Jackson after he no longer wanted them at his ranch.

Driving force

Warrick, who lives in a three-bedroom, ranch-style home on the property, purchased the seven acres in 2000 after relocating to Florida from California. She’s worked with exotic animals all of her life, received extensive training at the Los Angeles Zoo and has degrees in biology and holistic nutrition.

She’s always loved animals, she said.

“I was raised as a tomboy,” she said. “I never played with dolls. I always had spiders and snakes, so this is perfect for me.”

Though she has about 25 total volunteers who help out, she’s the driving force behind the preserve, which she created and paid for out of her own pocket.

“I’m out here at the crack of dawn every day,” she said, stroking the fur of Jade, a female Bengal/Siberian tiger, through the chain link fence of her enclosure. The tiger, purring almost like a house cat, clearly has affection for her.

“We feed them very well, of course,” she said. “Some of them are less friendly, but they’re all wild animals, so you have to aware of that all the time.”

Tours available

The St. Augustine Wild Reserve survives by offering tours on an appointment-only basis on Wednesdays and Saturdays. The two-hour tours are guided by an experienced wildlife professional, so advanced reservations must be made by phone.

“We draw people from all over the world,” Warrick said. “What makes us stand out is that here you can get much closer to the animals than you can at a zoo.”

Warrick said one of her missions with the reserve is to dissuade people from getting wild animals as pets.

“Our goal is to educate the public about exotic animal ownership, to prevent future animal abuse,” she said. “We also transport various animals to schools, churches and other outreach venues for educational presentations so people can see what these animals are really like.”

MORE INFORMATION:

The St. Augustine Wild Reserve can be reached by phone at (904) 940-0664 or by email at chufff@aol.com. Warrick recommends calling as far in advance as possible to book one of the tours. Donations are $25 per adult and $15 for children of age ten and under. Donations go towards the care of the animals at the reserve.

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Still has the instincts it takes to survive, especially big predators like hyenas. There was a documentary some years ago where two captive bread tigers were taught by a trainer to hunt and kill wild game in Africa. These two tigers in less than a year succesfully transitioned from captive to wild tigers. Hyenas being a pack animal would be a bit more diffucult, relying on a specific/complicated family system, but a large majority of a hyena's wild diet is carion or other kills stolen from other animals. All animals have natural instincts to rely on, you get them stimulated or hungry enough and any "captive" predator can show you it's a natural killer.
Still havn't had the oppurtunity to visit the sanctuary but can't wait to get out there someday!!!